Saturday, September 19, 1998 Last modified at 3:22 a.m. on Saturday, September 19, 1998

House bill sends grants to states

WASHINGTON (AP) - An election-year bill ending 31 federal education programs in favor of sending money directly to states cleared the House on Friday.

The GOP measure still must be taken up by the Senate.

Republicans said the measure helps carry out its promise to give states, school districts and families more control over how federal education money is spent. The programs would be replaced by grants of $2.7 billion in 1999 and totaling $14.3 billion over five years.

"It liberates teachers, parents and students to once again focus on learning, not on reports, not on regulations, not on bureaucracy, not on red tape," said House Speaker Newt Gingrich, R-Ga.

Although 31 programs would be converted under the Republican bill, most education spending for kindergarten through high school would go untouched. Spending by the Education Department for aid to schools totals about $13 billion to $15 billion, depending on which programs are included.

Opponents said the measure does nothing to address serious problems such as crowded classrooms, a shortage of qualified teachers and a need for after-school programs.

They said block grants in the 1970s and 1980s caused spending to be lowered.

"This is just another way to cut the money for the public schools," said Rep. Bob Etheridge, D-N.C.

"Don't tell me we need to cut education money," said Etheridge, a former state superintendent of schools. "We ought to be about finding a way to put additional money in it ... and reduce class sizes."

Critics said that by repealing the programs, the measure would also eliminate some important federal conditions attached to money earmarked for those programs, such as a requirement that homeless children have access to public schools.

Before voting on the bill, the House rejected, 215-190, a Democratic substitute calling for $12.4 billion in federal spending over seven years to help hire 100,000 teachers.